New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts
Benthic community structure and water column characteristics at two sites in
the Kermadec Islands Marine Reserve, New Zealand
Jonathan P. A. Gardner
Martin J. Curwen
Joanne Long
Robert J. Williamson
Ann R. Wood
Island Bay Marine Laboratory
Centre for Marine Environmental and Economic Research
School of Biological Sciences
Victoria University of Wellington
P.O. Box 600
Wellington, New Zealand
email: jonathan.gardner@vuw.ac.nz
Abstract The Kermadec Islands Marine Reserve (KIMR), which is located
at 30°S, is New Zealand’s largest marine reserve at 748 000 ha, and
its biota is composed of a mix of warm temperate, subtropical, and tropical species.
A depth-stratified ecological survey was conducted of the abundance and percentage
cover of macrobenthic species and of the water column at two sites (Meyer Island
and West Chanter Island), 2 km apart. Significant differences in benthic community
structure and in water column turbidity and chlorophyll concentrations were observed
between the two sites despite their proximity and physical similarity. Compared
with other “snapshot” surveys of benthic community structure at sites
within the KIMR there was a high degree of similarity among the species observed,
but often a low degree of similarity in species abundance or percentage cover
as a function of depth. We suggest that despite its isolation and the degree
of difficulty of working at this location, a full-scale ecological survey of
the coastal marine biota of the KIMR is warranted to better understand New Zealand’s
subtropical marine biota and its affinities with other marine biotas of the South
Pacific.
Keywords marine reserve; Kermadec Islands; New Zealand; ecological
survey; depth-stratification; macroinvertebrates; benthic community structure;
water column characteristics
New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 2006, Vol. 40:
179–194
0028–8330/06/4001–0179 © The Royal Society
of New Zealand 2006
M05045; Online publication date 21 February 2006. Received 13 July
2005; accepted 30 November 2005
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